Repaired Souls
by Gohan Roxas
Summary: A disgraced knight seeks to restore his family's honour, but gets more than he bargains for. Based off the Gauntlet Mode of Broken Destiny. OC ALERT. Hilde/OC, traces of Cassandra/OC. OCs replacing Dampierre because he annoys me. Rated T for violence, themes and language. ON HIATUS.
1. Reclaiming the Past

_**I started playing Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny a while back, and I actually quite liked the story of the Gauntlet Mode. So I made my own version of it.**_

_**NOTE: The whole story will be told from the point of view of my main OC, unless I specify otherwise.**_

The game trail that lies before me is vanishing. As I reach the hill's peak I look closely at what lies ahead of me.

The Coliseum. The one place where warriors come to test their skills or reclaim lost honour. For me it is the latter.

My name is Ranulph Kristofferson, former Knight of Wolfkrone.

My father was once a knight of high station, until enemies of his in the court framed him for heinous charges. He fled with my mother and I; he fled as far as he could. We ran all the way to the distant islands of Japan.

There, while I was still young, I began to learn the ways of the sword, 'the way of the Samurai', as the locals called it.

Upon the deaths of my parents I returned to Wolfkrone, intent on restoring my family's honour. The knights jeered and scoffed at me when they found out I was a Kristofferson.

They stopped when I saved Princess Hildegard's life from an assassin.

From that moment I was the Princess' bodyguard, and a Knight of Wolfkrone. Not that the Princess needed a bodyguard. Very often she challenged me to spar; almost every time I landed on my armoured back.

We were friends for many years. At times it felt like it could even materialise into something more. That ended on that fateful day…

The day we challenged the Azure Knight, Nightmare.

The armies of Wolfkrone were decimated. I myself suffered injuries that were very close to being fatal. I had staggered of the battlefield, bloodied and bruised, looking for a place to die…

But a girl found me and nursed me back to health.

Her name was Talim. She told me she was a Priestess of the Winds. I had chuckled at that, saying, "You could be the true wielder of Soul Edge for all I care. The only thing that matters to me is that you kept me alive." She'd giggled at that.

When I left her, it was with a real sadness. Despite her being younger than me, she'd cared for me like a mother. I quite liked that.

For years after that I trained hard in the mountains, waiting for the day that I would be strong enough to destroy Soul Edge, no matter who wielded it.

Now I was ready to face the world once again. The Coliseum would be where I would start.

**RS**

"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to this, the final of the Aglaia Tournament!"

The crowd roared.

"Now, my friends," the announcer continued, "this shall truly be the battle of a lifetime! Two of the greatest combatants to ever enter this Coliseum will do battle to be crowned Champion of the Aglaia Tournament!"

Another ecstatic roar.

"Now entering from this side of the arena, a fearless warrior who literally takes no prisoners… A brutal fighter with no remorse… Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… _Achelus!_"

From the opposite side of the arena, a bald man entered, clasping his dual swords above his head. His body was covered in tattoos; his pants were black, with a red sash on his waist. His greaves were red, with vicious-looking blades on the toes. I gripped the hilt of my katana even harder as I watched my opponent dance around the arena, grinning at the jeers of hatred he was receiving.

"And now, from this side of the arena, a true enigma. He quite literally appeared from the wilderness mere days ago, and he blitzed even seasoned performers to make it here. Ladies and gentlemen, it is… _Ranulph Kristofferson!_"

The crowd let out a deafening roar as I entered the arena. I felt Achelus' cold stare on me as he analysed me, searching for a weakness.

My armour was a basic grey, adorned slightly with bronze on the neck and shoulders. I wore simple black trousers and black greaves on my feet. On my head was a nondescript grey helm that left the bottom half of my face exposed; it too was adorned with bronze.

Achelus grinned savagely as he saw this. I knew right then that despite the rules of no attacks above the neck that my opponent planned to aim for the exposed part of my face.

"Let the final begin!" the announcer proclaimed as he retreated.

Grimly, I drew my katana and readied myself. Still grinning, Achelus adopted a battle stance.

"Begin!" the announcer roared.

As I had predicted, Achelus began by stabbing at my face. Soundlessly I parried the strike and kicked him in the stomach, sending him reeling. Growling, Achelus lashed out with both his swords. Again I parried; this time, however, I gripped his shoulder and kneed him soundly three times in the same place I'd kicked him.

Snarling, Achelus' swords became enveloped in flame. He was preparing a powerful blow. I gripped my sword's hilt even harder and stood my ground.

Laughing triumphantly, Achelus leaped into the air, pointing both swords towards my head.

Before he came down, however, I punched him in the now well-bruised area of his stomach.

Roaring in pain, Achelus landed harmlessly on his feet, grimacing. I allowed myself a slight triumphant smile as I prepared my own powerful blow.

I ran towards Achelus, my sword held aloft, as if preparing for a powerful downward strike. Achelus wearily raised both swords to block that strike.

Quickly I lowered my katana, slashing diagonally across my opponent's chest in a non-fatal injury. I rushed behind Achelus, slashing the tendon in his left leg as I did so, before slamming his kidney with the hilt of my blade.

With a dull moan, Achelus fell, his eyes open, his mouth agape. He wasn't dead. Unlike him, I didn't kill anyone unless they deserved it.

The crowd roared in jubilation. Grinning, the announcer declared me the winner. Wordlessly, I began walking back out of the arena, ready to move on.

Unbeknownst to me, however, three people were watching me, all planning to make use of my skills. And that would lead me to the greatest battle of my entire life.

_**Please rate and review. It'll be my encouragement to keep going.**_


	2. A Proposal

_**Yay, someone likes this story! :P So then, here's an update!**_

The Coliseum was dotted with numerous shops and the like; after all, watching people fight to the death, or at least close to it, is a popular source of entertainment.

I myself walked through the dirty streets surrounding the Coliseum, ignoring the shops completely. I was on a mission; I had no time for trivial things such as that.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Aglaia Champion," a man's voice drawled from a small tavern nearby. I stopped and looked at the speaker. He had long black hair and he was a handsome man, with deep blue eyes and a strong chin. He wore a simple brown shirt and white trousers that did not match his peasant-like shirt. On his hands were black gloves that did not cover his fingers. On his face he wore a sardonic smirk.

"What of it?" I asked him in an almost belligerent tone.

The man raised his hands in an exaggerated posture of apology. "I'm not trying to start anything, I assure you." He laughed. "I watched your match against Achelus. Nicely done. Though I probably would have killed him if it were me."

"Well, it wasn't."

The stranger laughed again. "No, it wasn't." He kicked the crude wooden seat in front of him away from the table. "Feel free to join me. I'm paying," he added quickly.

My head shifted slightly in what was probably a nod. Moving slowly, I sat in the chair and faced him.

"Bartender, a drink for my new friend, if you wouldn't mind," the man yelled over the commotion of the tavern.

"Right," the bartender replied in a gruff voice.

The man turned back to me. "My name is Perseus, and I need your help."

"And why should I help you?" I asked, tilting my head to the right. My helmet connected with my breastplate with a _clang_.

Perseus chuckled. "You can take that off, you know. I'm not going to pull an Achelus and try to hit you in the head."

I smiled slightly and took off my helmet, placing it on the table. Though I didn't admit it to my new companion, I was glad to have removed the helmet. My head was sweating from having it on constantly.

Perseus was staring at me.

"What?" I demanded of him.

"You know, you're actually quite the looker. I don't know why you hide your face like that."

"Let's just say that there are some people that I'd rather not have recognise me."

Perseus laughed merrily at that. "I understand. Most of us mighty warriors have pissed off one person too many." He leaned back in his chair as the bartender arrived with a tankard of very sour-smelling ale. "You know, I don't actually know your name."

I gave him a look. "My name was announced at the match."

"So I wasn't paying attention to that loud-mouthed announcer, big deal."

There was a pause. "So?" Perseus asked me.

"So what?"

"So tell me your name."

I sighed in frustration. "Ranulph Kristofferson."

Perseus grinned. "Nice to officially meet you, Ranulph Kristofferson. So I'm assuming you're German?"

"Something like that," I replied warily. "You?"

"Greek." He said it as if it didn't actually mean anything.

"You were saying that you needed my help?" I said then, getting to the point.

"Yes." Perseus leaned forward. "What do you know of the Trojan Challenge?"

"Nothing at all." That was true.

"Well it's rather simple. It's a team challenge; two warriors up against another two. There's a total prize of 100,000 gold pieces."

I whistled in surprise. "That's 50,000 each."

"Yes it is. And I don't know about you, Ranulph, but I _really_ need that money."

I looked at him but said nothing.

"Well," Perseus continued, "I think that you and I could do wonders in the Trojan Challenge together."

I mulled it over. I actually quite liked this man. His easy-going good humour was infectious. Also, those 50,000 gold pieces sounded very appealing.

"I'm in," I said shortly.

**RS**

_**Narrator**_

A short distance from Ranulph and Perseus, a petite blonde woman stood unobtrusively next to a wooden pole. "The Trojan Challenge, huh?" she murmured. "Well, they do look like good fighters…" She giggled. "Not to mention that they're _very_ handsome." Calmly, she walked away to her waiting companion, who stood leaning against a wall, her arms crossed.

"Find something?" she asked in a rich voice.

"More like some_one_," the blonde purred.

"Cassandra, we don't have time for that."

"I know, I know, we need to find someone to help us out. But…" she paused dramatically.

"Just get on with it, Cassandra," the other woman said wearily.

"You're no fun, Hilde," Cassandra said sullenly. "I managed to kill two birds with one stone. I found two warriors to help us out, _and_ they look _so_ hot!"

Hilde rolled her brown eyes heavenward.

"You know that guy who won the Aglaia yesterday? The one who you said seemed familiar to you?"

Hilde nodded. "Ranulph."

"Well, he's gonna enter the Trojan Challenge with a Greek guy named Perseus. They both look like really good fighters."

Hilde straightened up off the wall, uncrossing her arms. "Tell me more."

_**I'm sorry if either Cassandra or Hilde seem OOC in this. I wasn't sure exactly how to write for them, especially Hilde.**_

_**Please REVIEW!**_


	3. No Holding Back

_**All-new action-packed chapter. Should be fun, eh?**_

"Well," Perseus drawled, leaning against the wall, "the Alpha Bracket was ridiculously easy."

"Don't get cocky," I rebuked him. "We have no idea who we have to fight next. The Omega Bracket is kept secret, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he waved it off. I took in his appearance now that he was geared up for the arena. He wore a silver breastplate that was similar to mine, but he did not wear mail like I did. He wore simple black pants and gloves, with grey boots on his feet. His waist was adorned with a traditional gladiator's belt like the Romans of old, and his curved sword was belted to his side.

Just then, an armed guard came towards us. "Perseus, Kristofferson, you're up."

Perseus looked at me. "Looks like we're about to find out who we're fighting."

I adjusted my helm, but said nothing.

**RS**

As it had been for the final of the Aglaia Tournament, the Coliseum's stands were packed full of spectators. Once again, the announcer stood in the centre, egging them on.

"The Trojan Challenge is the pride of this Coliseum. Very often it forces two warriors with no prior experience of fighting together into a team, where they must fight together. Now we will see the best warriors in this Coliseum, from the Alpha and Omega Brackets, do battle to share in one hundred thousand gold pieces!"

The crowd roared.

"First, there comes an all-new team. One is a renowned warrior from Greece with an extremely unorthodox fighting style. The other is a relative unknown, and the champion of the Aglaia Tournament. They are… _Perseus and Ranulph Kristofferson!_"

Wild cheers greeted us as we entered the arena. With a grin, Perseus soaked up the adoration, holding his curved blade above his head, whirling it through the air. I myself only drew my katana and held it in front of my steel-clad face in a salute.

"Our next two combatants are mysterious characters indeed," the announcer continued the introductions. "These two _women_…" There were a few gasps of surprise, and more than a few growls of resentment from the crowd. "…have appeared from nowhere, and with their teamwork, have bested all opponents who dared to face them. I give you… _Garda and the Masked Alexandra!_"

This time the sound from the crowd was a mixture of jubilant cheers and sour jeers. I took in our opponents at a glance. One of the women was blonde, dressed flamboyantly in a mixture of blue and white. She carried a short sword and a pink shield. A white mask adorned her pretty face. _That would be the Masked Alexandra,_ I thought wryly.

My gaze fell to the second woman, Garda. She wore full armour, with wolves adorning her helm and shoulder plates. Her weapons were a short sword and a lance that was adorned with a simple pennon. My eyes narrowed behind my helm. Why did she seem familiar to me?

Shaking off that feeling, I adopted a battle stance. "I'll take Garda. The 'Masked Alexandra' is yours," I said to Perseus.

"Gotcha." My partner was grinning. "Garda seems more your type to me."

Despite myself, I laughed slightly. "You're incorrigible."

"Of course I am," he replied, swinging his sword down to his side. "That's what makes me so much fun."

"Sorry that you handsome men hafta be injured by a couple of girls!" the Masked Alexandra taunted.

"And I hate to hurt such a pretty girl!" Perseus quipped back.

Garda did not taunt me. She simply hooked her lance into her hip, holding her sword at her side. Even her stance seemed familiar.

"Begin!" the announcer roared.

Garda made the first move, stabbing for my midriff. I knocked it away with my hip and raised my katana, anticipating the downward stroke of her sword. The blades clashed with the heavy sound of steel on steel. Garda pushed forward on her sword, growling. Clearly, she was planning to make me lose my footing, then to strike while I was down.

I smiled and took a step back.

Sensing victory, Garda lashed out with her lance, not noticing the plan I had in place. Still smiling, I pushed away her sword and grabbed her lance as I dodged it, placing it under my arm, effectively removing it from the fight. I wrenched the lance from her grip and threw it away. Snarling, Garda raised her sword. Again, I parried the blow.

The battle went on like that for quite a while. Garda attempting to strike me with her sword, while I parried every blow.

After about five minutes of this, Garda was getting tired. Her strikes were losing their momentum and power. I grinned internally and began my counter-attack.

I focused mainly on her upper body. Surprisingly, despite her waning strength, Garda parried all of my blows. I raised my sword as if to lash out with a heavy blow to her armoured head. Instinctively, Garda raised her sword to block it.

Instead of striking with my sword, however, I performed a sweeping kick to her legs, forcing her onto her back.

Growling in frustration, Garda prepared to stand up. Grimly, I pointed my katana towards her face, effectively pinning her down.

"Do you yield?" I asked in a cold tone.

She stared at me with eyes that seemed to radiate hatred. "I yield." She said it between clenched teeth.

"Good." I sheathed my katana and offered her my hand. She stared at it incredulously.

"Did you honestly believe that a gladiator like me had no honour?" I asked her, a smile in my voice.

Despite herself, she smiled and took my hand. With a surprising ease, I lifted her to her feet. It was then that I noticed that Perseus had defeated the Masked Alexandra at roughly the same time I had defeated Garda. He looked at me, grinning. Despite myself, I grinned back.

At the same time, the Masked Alexandra winked at Garda. I glanced quickly at her. She gave no indication that she'd seen the wink at all.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Perseus and Ranulph Kristofferson, victors of the Trojan Challenge!" the announcer exulted.

**RS**

"Where you headed now?" Perseus asked me as I packed my travel bag.

"I thought I'd make a quick trip to the Kingdom of I-Don't-Know."

My new friend laughed at that. "Well, I'm headed to No-Idea. Is it okay if I travel with you as far as that?"

I grinned at him. "I think I could stand that."

Just then, our opponents from the Trojan Challenge, Garda and the Masked Alexandra arrived at the gates.

"Ladies," Perseus said, giving them a courtly bow.

The Masked Alexandra giggled slightly. Garda elbowed her with one armoured arm. "Oww," the masked woman whined, rubbing her arm.

"Just get on with it," Garda told her.

The Masked Alexandra sighed. "Fine." She pulled off her white mask. "My name is Cassandra Alexandra, sister of Sophitia, destroyer of Soul Edge."

I whistled in surprise.

"Geez," Perseus said, his hands behind his head, "do ya have to be so formal?"

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "It was _her_ idea," she replied, giving Garda a look. "Your turn."

"Fine," Garda replied, removing her helmet. She shook out her auburn hair and looked at the two of us. My heart rate doubled and I stopped breathing.

"I am Princess Hildegard of Wolfkrone," she proclaimed. She looked at me with a surprisingly impish smile. "But call me Hilde."

_**Could Ranulph be more obvious? :P**_

_**Please REVIEW!**_


	4. Reunion at Last

_**How about a really quick chapter? Yes? Then let's get to it.**_

The moonlit plain lay before the four of us. It was an odd feeling to be travelling with a group again. Hilde and Cassandra had explained that they were searching for the ingredients of a potion; the King of Wolfkrone, Hilde's father, was gravely ill, and only this potion could save him. And there was only one person in the entire world who could brew that potion: Ivy Valentine. Cassandra innocently proclaimed that they needed "some big strong men" to help them out; Hilde gave her a sharp rap on the back of the head for that remark.

"Who's taking first watch?" Perseus asked, breaking me out of my reverie.

"I will," Cassandra offered.

"No," Hilde replied instantly. "You'll be asleep within minutes."

"No I won't!"

"I'll do it," I chimed in in a quiet tone. Cassandra looked at me hesitantly. Something within me thought that she was afraid of me. Maybe it was the fact that I still wore my helmet everywhere we went.

"That's cool with me," Perseus said, lying down on the grass.

"There we go then," Hilde's voice was firm. "Ranulph, you take first watch. I'll clean up the pots from dinner. Perseus, Cassandra, get some rest."

Cassandra's face broke out in an expectant grin.

"In separate tents."

The blonde woman pouted. Perseus let out a sigh of disappointment, which I laughed at as I walked off a short distance to take watch.

**RS**

Two hours later, Hilde walked up to me, presumably to take her turn at watch. She was still wearing her armour, sans her helmet, unlike me. "Midnight," she said quietly as she looked up at the sky.

"Yes," I agreed, looking up also. I winced slightly as my helmet once again clanged against my breastplate.

Hilde laughed throatily. "You can take that off, you know. I don't mind."

I looked hesitantly at her, but did as she asked. She gasped as she took in my appearance. I have no idea why. My face was plain, with brown eyes and blonde hair that was tied back in an Oriental-style ponytail.

My eyebrows furrowed. "What's so shocking about my face?"

She answered by hugging me. The gesture would have been romantic, were it not for the heavy clang made by our colliding armour.

I laughed somewhat awkwardly.

"Ranulph," Hilde whispered in a teary voice. "I thought that…after Nightmare…that…that you were dead…"

I chuckled. "As you can see, that's a highly exaggerated rumour."

She laughed at that. "You always were a joker." She touched my arm with one gauntleted hand, which was greeted with another metallic clang. We both laughed at that.

"You know," I said slyly, "if this is meant to be a romantic moment, the sound effects kind of ruin the effect."

She smiled shyly at me. I blinked. Did I see a blush in her cheeks?

"Could you…" she said awkwardly, "er…help me get these off?" She glanced meaningfully at her gauntlets."

I laughed. "Sure."

We struggled briefly with the gauntlets before I pulled them off, landing heavily on my rear end. Hilde laughed at me and pulled me back up.

As I rose, she gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

Stunned, I pulled away. She wasn't looking at me now. She was busy studying the grass at her feet.

"I had to do that…at least once…"

I looked at her sympathetically, placing my hand gingerly on her arm. "Why don't you get some rest?"

"But…"

"I'll take your turn at watch," I interrupted her. "I can't sleep now anyway." I chuckled slightly. "You've given me a lot to think about, Princess."

She looked up at me, her brown eyes suddenly huge.

I laughed openly and pushed her towards the tent. Obediently, she walked away, glancing back only once to watch my silent contemplation of the stars.

_**Following the long, action-packed chapter, there came a short, mega-fluff chapter.**_

_**Again, I am SORRY if Hilde seems REALLY OOC here.**_

_**Please REVIEW!**_


	5. A Sticky Situation

_**It's been a long time coming, but I've got a new chapter up!**_

_**Several days later…**_

"YOU PERVERTED ARISTOCRAT!"

I jolted awake with a start. "What in the world was that?" I asked myself.

The scream came again. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

My eyebrows furrowed. That was Hilde's voice. But why would she be screaming? She went to her tent before I went to mine.

Wait…her 'spells'…

Startled, I bolted out of my tent and took in the scene in front of me. Perseus was standing in front of Cassandra, protecting her. He wore only black trousers, and he had his sword in his right hand. Threatening him with her lance was Hilde. Her eyes were open, but they were glazed. Cassandra stood fearfully behind Perseus, clutching his bare shoulder with both hands.

Perseus saw me and his eyes widened. "Get away from here, Ranulph, your princess has gone nuts!"

"Why is she my…?" I started, but thought better of it. "Never mind. Just get away from her."

"We've tried!" Cassandra chimed in, her voice quivering. "She just follows us around, calling us…"

"PERVERTED ARISTOCRAT!" Hilde screeched.

"That," Cassandra finished lamely.

"Why the hell is she doing this?" Perseus asked me, panic in his voice.

"Well…" I thought back quickly, then remembered. "When she was twelve, there was a noble, one of the King's most trusted advisors. But he had…er…unusual tastes. He much preferred the company of…ah…shall we say, _younger_ people than older ones."

"Meaning…?"

"He was a pederast," I said flatly.

Cassandra retched involuntarily.

"Exactly. Anyway, one night, after a meeting with the King, he snuck into Hilde's bedchambers and…well…attempted to violate her. And he would have, had she not cried out…"

"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU PERVERTED ARISTOCRAT!"

"My father heard it and rushed into the room. He took in the scene at a glance and wrested the man away from the Princess. He informed the King immediately, of course, who ordered that the man would face a trial by combat. It was unusual, but the King was infuriated."

"What happened to him?"

"My father killed him."

Cassandra sniffed. "Good."

"So what has this got to do with Hilde pointing her lance at me right now?" Perseus demanded.

"She was a bit traumatised by the event. Ever since then, every now and then, she goes into a blind rage whilst asleep, believing that the man has come back to try again. This is one of those times."

"How do ya get her to calm down?"

"Well, there's an old lullaby that usually…"

"Well, don't just stand there, Ranulph. Sing!"

"But I can't…"

"JUST SING!" Perseus and Cassandra shouted at me.

"Fine!" I shouted. I cleared my throat slightly and began to sing the lullaby.

_Be calm, my dear child _

_Banish the dark dream _

_Nothing can harm you_

_For I am with you now_

_Sleep calm, sleep deep_

_Sleep warm, sleep happy_

_Know that I shall never leave_

_For I am with you now._

Instantly, Hilde snapped out of the trance and stared at me. Unaware that she'd recovered, I repeated the song.

_Be calm, my dear child _

_Banish the dark dream _

_Nothing can harm you_

_For I am with you now_

_Sleep calm, sleep deep_

_Sleep warm, sleep happy_

_Know that I shall never leave_

_For I am with you now._

I was about to repeat it again when I was interrupted by Hilde's lips pressing against mine. All the feelings I'd had whilst we were in Wolfkrone, then again that night under the starlight, rushed back to me. It was then that my mind discovered what my heart already knew.

I was in love with her.

_**There we go! :D**_

_**Nero Angelo Sparda: Yes he did. That was the idea.**_

_**His Royal Pratness: Thank you! XD**_

_**ChaosxPaladin: Ask and you shall receive.**_

_**Please REVIEW!**_


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